ipl-logo

Women In Montaigne's Essay On Education

1731 Words7 Pages

As advanced and modern Montaigne’s thoughts on education are, his thoughts on women are dated, misogynistic, and erroneous. The reader has an early impression of this in Montaigne’s essay on education. When speaking about education, Montaigne always refers to male students, never educating daughters. Now, this in itself does not make Montaigne sexist and misogynistic, as it was not part of the culture or period for girls or women to receive an education. However, it is soon very clear that Montaigne’s opinion of women is much lower than not allowing them to be educated. Montaigne degrades women in his society as less than human, starkly different from his opinions on other cultures; even cannibals are higher than women are in Montaigne’s mind. In fact, he …show more content…

A woman is a pretty accessory that serves little purpose. Montaigne suggests that “…a woman smells most perfectly when she does not smell at all, just as her deeds are said to smell sweetest when they are unnoticed and unheard” (Montaigne, p. 134). A woman should work quietly in the background while her husband takes all the credit. The women in Montaigne’s life were ornamental at best. What is most shocking is that Montaigne’s disdain for women extends even to his own daughter. In speaking about his education system, Montaigne notes that “…even if my hopes for her should be disappointed, there will be enough other causes for blaming my educational system... I should have followed it still more scrupulously with sons, who are less subservient and are freer by nature.” (Montaigne, p. 142). Montaigne had only one surviving child, a daughter, but instead of educating her well and treating her with the same respect that he would give sons, he blames her failure on her subservient and unfree nature. A nature that exists due to both his treatment and lack of valuing her as well as society’s oppression of women during the

Show More
Related
1027 Words | 5 Pages

Natalie Zemon Davis highlights Bertrande’s role in The Return of Martin Guerre. In doing so, she explores the little regarded world of female peasantry. Bertrande is a woman with two seemingly contradictory desires in life: a desire for independence and a desire to uphold her reputation as a virtuous woman (28). In a medieval society where womanly virtue is based off of obedience to the males in one’s life, these desires appear contradictory; independence in a woman is dangerous because she will be prone to disobedience, and disobedience would stain her appearance of womanly virtue.

Read More
1067 Words | 5 Pages

Topic: Bertrande’s position as a woman in a patriarchal society makes her choices impossible. Discuss. Janet Lewis’ novella, The Wife of Martin Guerre presents a hierarchical society that disregards the voice of women in society who seek justice. Throughout the novel, Bertrande is depicted as a strong, independent women however, her ability to express her objections is restricted due to feudal system being an important part of the 16th century. Furthermore, although the French parochial lives under the patriarchal system, Bertrande is able to strongly express her decisions when taking the case of Arnuad du Tilh in court.

Read More
1127 Words | 5 Pages

In many works of literature, women are portrayed as either dependent and madly in love with a man, whether he is a good man or a bad one, or they are seen as devious and only using men in order to gain something or succeed. This idea appears in society as well, even in the early 1900’s. In Edith Wharton’s novel Ethan Frome, the audience is acquainted with a woman who can be portrayed as the loving, innocent and infatuated stereotype, but when looked at closely can be seen as the real antagonist of the novel. In the novel Zeena, Ethan’s wife, can be quickly judged and seen as the woman culpable for Ethan’s demise. The audience perceives her as nasty and miserable.

Read More
1324 Words | 6 Pages

They didn’t have a say in things, so much so that they have to be with someone whom their parents arranged for them to marry, as with Nemirovsky’s character Lucile who was married to Gaston Angellier, “She had never loved him; she had married him because her father wished it” (202). They belonged inside houses performing house chores all day and taking care of the men and their children, “Charlotte Pericand, who ruled the family’s daily life with an iron hand, whether it was managing the household, her children’s education or her husband’s career” (5). But because of the war and under the collaborationist Vichy government, Kaplan stated, “the domestic policy of France moved in a direction that reinforced and sharpened the most conservative attitudes towards women’s role (2). Women were involved in all of the major organized Resistance movements, as Kaplan

Read More
1389 Words | 6 Pages

It can be said that society has always been quite judgmental, and at times misguided when it comes to women. The negative perceptions that society has towards females are often times directly related toward her actions. What a female does seems to degrade her identity and capabilities in the eyes of some men. In the poems “The Lady’s Dressing Room” and The essay “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, we can see both authors use of tone, form and style to develop their works. These poems are mainly driven by men’s attitudes towards women.

Read More
789 Words | 4 Pages

One way in which gender expectations influenced the narrator's behavior is through the performance of masculinity. The narrator and his friends engage in reckless and violent behavior in an attempt to prove their masculinity to one another. As stated in her in her book "Stiffed: The Betrayal

Read More
495 Words | 2 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr was a social activist who led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s. Martin Luther King had been arrested, which never stopped the work he did for the Civil Rights Movement. He also won the Nobel Peace Prize! Before MLK Jr. was a civil rights activist, he was a normal citizen experiencing school, college, and work, which shaped him to be the leader he is famed as. Martin Luther King Junior had an interesting childhood/life before he became a Civil Rights activist.

Read More
661 Words | 3 Pages

Women had a hand in everything, Including education. The need for teachers rose along with the demand for higher education. With the population growing across the continent, public schools were vastly increasing, therefore the feminization of teaching had and did occur. Women were the better option to hire because schools could pay them less and many thought that women had a natural knack for teaching. This change in gender roles proves evident that women could and should be apart of making societal and governmental

Read More
1091 Words | 5 Pages

This proved when the narrator’s mother always tried to get the narrator to do work that appropriate for a lady instead of outside work, however it was not something that she enjoyed. The narrator also was not considered of real helper to her father because she was a female. This proved when her father introduced the narrator as ‘his new hired hand’ to a salesman, he replied, “I thought it was only a girl” (line 76, paragraph 10).This shows how the society view girl as ‘just a girl’ at that time and it means that their roles are not really significant in the society. As being said by Alexander Pope (1688-1744), “Most women have no character at all.” (Bressler, C.E., 2011).

Read More
1532 Words | 7 Pages

Introduction Women in the Middle ages were treated as the second class members within their social class. They were taught to be obedient to their husbands and were expected to run the household and raise children. Their role in the society, however, was much more complex, while some medieval women achieved a high level of equality with men. In the Middle Ages women had a secondary role, coming second after men.

Read More
1360 Words | 6 Pages

Furthermore, Feminist Criticism provides a better view of literature because it shows that women can be powerful. When Emilia finds out that her husband has been plotting an evil plan she says,” Tis proper I obey him, but not now”(Othello V.2.195). Emilia refuses to help her husband after she finds the cruel intentions he has despite the expectation of women always being submissive to their husbands. Women also have a voice and feelings, they are capable of defying their husbands commands when they know what he expects is simply wrong. In a literary article,The Role of Women in Othello: A Feminist Reading states that,” Society weighs heavily on the shoulders of women; they feel that they must support the men and defer to them, even if the actions of the men are questionable” (Literary Articles).

Read More
1355 Words | 6 Pages

The autobiography, The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, provides a vivid insight into the complicated, yet exhilarating, life of Rousseau. The beginning of his life was filled with misfortunes, such as the death of his mother which was quickly followed by a distraught and self-sabotaging attitude which his father adopted. This led to his father’s involvement in illegal behaviors and the subsequent abandonment of Rousseau. His mother’s death was the catalyst for his journey to meet multiple women who would later affect his life greatly. The Influence of Miss Lamberciers, Madame Basile, Countess de Vercellis, and Madam de Warens on the impressionable adolescent mind of Rousseau led to the positive cultivation of self-discovery and the creation of new experiences, as well as the development of inappropriate sexual desires and attachments towards women.

Read More
1107 Words | 5 Pages

Originating in France, ‘The Necklace’ is a short story written by French writer Guy de Maupassant in the late nineteenth century, the period where literary movements realism and naturalism dominated French fiction. Maupassant played an important role in both the realist movement and the naturalist movement through his depiction of the setting as well as the character’s decision. The short story reflects upon the rigid patriarchal society during the late nineteenth century, demonstrating how the wealth of a person can lead to their generosity and greed; thus affecting their lifestyles. Through ‘The Necklace’, Maupassant aims to depict the conflicts between the upper-class and the lower class, how their inner desires vary. This essay will analyze ‘The Necklace’ and how Maupassant uses the social context, characters and literary devices in the short story to illustrate his misogynistic viewpoints towards women.

Read More
773 Words | 4 Pages

Washing, ironing, sweeping, ferreting out the rolls of lint from under wardrobes—all this halting of decay is also the denial of life; for time simultaneously creates and destroys, and only its negative aspect concerns the housekeeper” (Beauvoir 380). "The Married Woman" is a chapter in Simone de Beauvoir’s book, The Second Sex, which demonstrates her negative thoughts about marriage and the overall treatment of a married woman. I agree with Beauvoir’s argument concerning the inequalities between spouses and the exaggeration of house work because of the time the book was written. In 1950, women’s roles were greatly changed because the men came back from war and took their jobs back.

Read More
1495 Words | 6 Pages

The role of women in literature crosses many broad spectrums in works of the past and present. Women are often portrayed as weak and feeble individuals that submit to the situations around them, but in many cases women are shown to be strong, independent individuals. This is a common theme that has appeared many times in literature. Across all literature, there is a common element that causes the suffering and pain of women. This catalyst, the thing that initiates the suffering of women, is essentially always in the form of a man.

Read More

More about Women In Montaigne's Essay On Education

Related Topics

Open Document